Tim Gregson - Unite the Union - Lancaster University Branch

Dear all,
I hope you are all keeping well and managing ok in these difficult times.
We thought it would be useful to provide you with an update on various things that have been going on since the lockdown in March and over the summer.
The branch committee have been holding regular update meetings to ensure reps are aware of the everchanging situation on campus and the ongoing work that is taking place both Covid and non-Covid related.
Whilst our focus has been on Covid, we have continued to work on the normal work of trade unions such as representing and supporting members when needed, engaging with the University on policy and procedure changes and raising issues where members feel they need a voice.
Regular HR/union meetings have taken place, initially two or 3 times a week to discuss the response to the current crisis and now reverting to twice a week with one meeting devoted to health and safety issues.
We have met the new Vice Chancellor during his induction period and relayed some of the things that we feel he should lead on as the new head of the institution. We recognise that it’s not an easy time for him to be taking over but that it is important that he understands the concerns and wished of our members. As part of this work, we have had initial conversations about the new University strategy and the work taking place on understanding the University values.
So, work definitely hasn’t stopped for the committee. In fact I doubt there’s every been a time when the executive have ever been as busy and I wish to pay credit to Eamon and Ian who have worked way beyond what could be expected of lay reps.
We continue to do all we can to support members and would urge you to speak to any colleagues that aren’t current members to consider joining Unite on campus. It’s vital that we have maximum membership representation during these uncertain and financially challenging times.
Other committee members will provide updates on other things such as the voluntary severance scheme and the terms and conditions review.

Andy Baker, Branch Chair

We have all had the opportunity to read or listen the message from Andy Schofield (new VC) to recognise the start of the new year. Unite along with UCU and UNISON have responded to the message with a statement as follows to the VC, Steve Bradley, Nicola Owen and Paul Boustead.

Joint union statement responding to VC’s start of year message

On 2 Oct 2020 the Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University stated, in his start-of-year message, that the University have been “…working with trade unions to risk assess all that we are doing.”

The three campus unions (UCU, UNISON and Unite) cannot support this statement, especially the implication that the trade unions support the University’s current approach to institution-wide health and safety. We do not support this approach, and wish to make it clear to members and the wider staff of the University our reasons why:

The unions raised serious concerns about the University risking failing to adhere to its legal obligation to consult with unions regarding Health & Safety measures which led to an Emergency Health & Safety Consultation Committee on 10 Jun 2020.
Following this meeting it was agreed that a weekly meeting would be established to scrutinise risk assessments and ‘re-opening’ plans for the entire campus following their approval by the PIPR group (Pandemic Institutional Planning & Response Group).
Whilst the unions have scrutinised a large number of risk assessments since mid-June 2020 via this meeting, we are aware that there has been a significant amount of activity in the University that hasn’t passed through this mechanism, despite our best efforts.
With growing concerns about the safety of staff, students and the wider community, on 25 Sep 2020 UNISON, Unite and UCU issued a notice of unsatisfactory working conditions to the Vice Chancellor, as the individual with overall responsibility for Health & Safety at Lancaster University, citing two overall concerns:
- that the promise that students would receive in-person teaching this term would put staff at increased risk of infection from Covid 19, and
- the decision by PIPR to open a number of University buildings to the general public, thereby making it impossible to control the numbers of people passing through them, undermined the hard work that colleagues had put into risk assessing their work, and also increased the risk to staff of Covid-19 infection.

To date the Unions have not received a satisfactory response to the Notice, and are awaiting a follow up meeting.

We urge members of staff not to come to work on campus unless they are absolutely confident that they are being adequately protected against risk of infection from Covid-19. If you are unsure whether your particular area of campus is safe or not, please contact your union H&S officer. If you’re not in a union, please, join one.

The Lancaster University branches of UCU, UNISON and Unite